Information wants to be…shared

HBR offers an innovative model to promote low-priced ebook sharing

Joshua Gans is the author of a new ebook from Harvard Business Review called Information Wants to Be Shared. The title is provocative enough but what makes it particularly interesting is that it’s not written by a publishing veteran. Gans is an economist by trade and therefore brings a fresh perspective to the concept of open vs. closed platforms for digital content.

There’s another very interesting aspect to this ebook though. The author and publisher have decided to put their money where their mouths are, so to speak, and are encouraging a low-cost sharing model for the content. I paid $4.99 for the Nook edition but you don’t have to. Because you know me (or read this article) you can get Information Wants to Be Shared for the low, low price of 99 cents. All you have to do is go to the book’s catalog page on the HBR site and plug in the promotional code ADINFO1. (Btw, I have nothing to gain from this. No affiliate fee. I don’t know the author. Nothing.)

This campaign touches on another point that’s near and dear to my heart: Publishers need to establish a direct relationship with their customers. In this case, HBR will never know who I am because I bought the ebook from B&N. But everyone who uses that discount code becomes a direct customer for HBR. Once again it proves just how smart those Harvard types are.

I started reading the ebook last night and I’ve found it to be very thought-provoking. I bet you will too. And since you’ll pay 80% less for it than I did why not give it a shot? 🙂